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Human Rights: An Overview

This LibGuide focuses on the meaning of human rights, the universal declaration of human rights, international human rights instruments and their monitoring bodies. Research and content developed by Oshole Imhoagene; Libguide developed by Grace Simons
Human rights organizations are organizations which advocate for human rights through identification of their violation. They include inter-governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations. In this section you would find several resources on human rights organizations and state members of these organizations.
Below are various links to some important human rights global and regional inter-governmental organizations which focuses on the promotion and protection of human rights through drafting of treaties and other international legal instruments.

Member States of Various IGOs

Listed below are member states of some inter- governmental organizations, by clicking the following links, you get to see these states and their dates of joining these organizations

Non-Governmental Organizations

Non -governmental organization, or NGO, is “is a non-for-profit association of people working for the promotion and protection of human rights in either a general (all human rights) or a special (specific, focused on certain human rights issues) NGOs may be local, national, regional or international.” (Cartwright and Conde 160)

Below are various links to some of the most prominent non-governmental organizations devoted to protecting human rights in various countries throughout the world.

In addition to some of the prominent non-governmental organizations listed above, there are other NGOs that focus on human right issues. Some of these NGOs operate on a worldwide basis while some are regional in scope. You can access these NGOs by clicking the worldwide NGO directory link.

The University of Minnesota’s human rights library maintains a list of human rights NGO link.

Global Inter-Governmental Organizations

Anti Trafficking Global Organizations Combating Human Trafficking

Anti-trafficking global organizations are organizations that combat human trafficking in several countries in the world, some of these organizations have subsidiaries in other countries. Their sphere of operation is not limited to certain countries. Listed below are some of these organizations.

Regional Inter-Governmental Organizations

Inter-Governmental Organizations, or IGOs are "organizations whose members are the governments of different countries, inter-governmental organizations are either global, meaning they are open to every country, such as the United Nations, or regional, meaning they are open only to a state in a particular geographic region." (Cartwright and Conde 128)